The rise of the mammals may be feel like a familiar tale, but there’s a twist you likely don’t know about: If it wasn’t for a virus, it might not have happened at all.

One of the few survivors of the asteroid impact 65 million years ago was a small, furry, shrew-like creature that lived in underground burrows and only ventured out at night, when predators weren’t active. The critter—already the product of some 100 million years of evolution—looked like a modern mammal, with body hair and mammary glands, except for one tiny detail: according to a recent genetic study, it didn’t have a placenta. And its kind might never have evolved one if not for a chance encounter with a retrovirus.

Unlike most viruses, which infect, replicate, and then leave their host, retroviruses elbow their way into their host’s genome where they are copied and passed on to daughter cells for the life of the host. This retrovirus, however, managed to sneak its way into one of our ancestor’s sperm or egg cells, able to be passed on to every cell in every subsequent generation. Virus and host had become one.
Without retrovirus, mammals might never have evolved placentas.

The interior ministry has announced its intention to elevate five complementary therapies including homeopathy to the same level as conventional medicine.

Homeopathy, holistic medicine, herbal medicine, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine will acquire the same status as conventional medicine by May 2017.

After being rejected in 2005 by the authorities for lack of scientific proof of their efficacy, complementary and alternative medicines made a comeback in 2009 when two-thirds of Swiss backed their inclusion on the constitutional list of paid health services.

CE Collective Evolution

November 1, 2015

by Arjun Walia.

It seems as if it was yesterday when the masses were completely unaware of the concerns being raised by a number of internationally recognized scientists regarding Genetically Modified Foods (GM). Now, dozens of countries in Europe have completely banned or have severe restrictions on GMOs, which includes the pesticides that go along with them. In fact, 19 new countries in Europe recently banned the growing of Genetically Modified foods in their countries, citing a number of health and environmental concerns. You can read more about that here.

The Difference Between Organic Food & Conventional Food

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), organic farms and processors must not use any genetically modified ingredients. This means that organic farmers can’t plant GMO seeds, an organic cow can’t eat GMO feed, an organic soup producer can’t use any GMO ingredients, and so on. Farmers and processors must show that they aren’t using GMOs and that they are protecting their products from contact with prohibited substances from farm to table. In order for something to qualify as organic, it must also be free from most synthetic materials, like pesticides and antibiotics. (source)(source)

Toddler temperament could be influenced by different types of gut bacteria

Date: May 27, 2015

Source: Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science

Summary: The microbiome of a toddler's gut may influence their behavior, a new study suggests. Scientists found correlations between temperament and the presence of specific types of intestinal bacteria in both girls and boys. The researchers aren't looking for a way to help parents modify the 'terrible twos,' but for clues about how - and where - chronic illnesses like obesity, asthma, allergies and bowel diseases start.

The Legal Drug That Kills More People Than Heroin

Since Nixon declared a “war on drugs” during a speech in 1971 drug policy has been dominated by a certain style of aggressive tactics and rhetoric to curb recreational drug-use, arguably driven less by science and statistics and more by economics and emotion. Last year, over $51 billion (£34 billion) was spent towards this cause in the U.S. alone.

This graph from Business Insider, below, shows the rates of overdose deaths in America from 1999 to 2013, giving an insight into how unsuccessful, if not counterintuitive, this initiative has become.

Since 1999, America has seen rising rates of fatal heroin, cocaine and opioid overdoses, with an estimated 300,000 more people addicted to heroin today than a decade ago. This increase in use can largely explain the rise in deaths caused by the drug, which is closely linked to the growth of prescription opioid abuse. While cocaine overdoses have dropped since 2006, they still remain higher in 2013 than they were 14 years previously.

High-dose Intravenous Vitamin C as a Successful Treatment of Viral Infections

Do you know that injections of mega doses of vitamin C were successfully used in treating polio, diphtheria, herpes zoster (shingles), herpes simplex, chicken pox, influenza, measles, mumps, and viral pneumonia in the middle of the 20th century? Most of these treatments are described in the book “Injectable Vitamin C: Effective Treatment for Viral and Other Diseases.” This book is a tribute to and acknowledgment of the important thinking and work of Dr. Fred R. Klenner and other physicians and researchers who worked in medicine from the 1930s to the 1970s. They made the pioneering efforts on the medical use of injectable vitamin C in the treatment of viral infection. One of the first studies in the inactivation of poliomyelitis virus in an in vitro setting using crystalline vitamin C (ascorbic acid) was designed by C. W. Jungeblut, MD in 1935.

In 1949, Dr. Klenner reported successful treatment of polio, diphtheria, herpes zoster, herpes simplex, chicken pox, influenza, measles, mumps, and viral pneumonia with injections of large doses of vitamin C. “The results,” he wrote, “which we have reported in virus diseases using vitamin C as the antibiotic may seem fantastic.”

EcoWatch

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. | November 1, 2015

Finally, courageous Atlanta CBS reporter Ben Swann tells the truth about the Center for Disease Control (CDC) whistleblower, the most censored story of the millennium. CDC’s senior vaccine safety scientist, Dr. William Thompson, has confessed that the CDC vaccine division has been concealing the link between certain vaccines and brain injuries including tics and autism, particularly in African-American children.

Watch Swann’s coverage here:

Watch What Happens When Cannabis Ravages Cancer Cells.

After the Washington Post released an article in 1974 that stated THC, “slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36%,” the world was remarkedly quiet about it. It took years, until after the advent of the internet and dissemination of information for the world to buy in. Also, video footage of the cells in action helps drive the point home: certain strains of THC can kill cancer cells and let normal cells live in peace. In 1998, a new study, by Madrid Complutense stated that ”THC can cause cancer cells to die, and unlike chemotherapy the THC kills nothing but the cancer cells, leaving the brain of course completely unharmed.”

The mysterious death of a doctor who peddled autism ‘cures’ to thousands

James Jeffrey Bradstreet was one of the world’s most famous — or infamous — physicians. He believed vaccines caused autism. He even testified so before Congress. Twice.

But he didn’t just rail against Big Pharma. He also tried to beat it.

Bradstreet offered thousands of autism patients around the globe controversial treatments. He claimed he could effectively cure kids of their autism, cancer and other maladies simply by injecting them with protein shots.

How the War on Drugs Is Hurting Chronic Pain Patients

When 58-year-old Zyp Cyk* had a serious mountain biking accident in June, she refused to go to the emergency room even though her injuries knocked her out cold and her husband pleaded for her to seek help.

Instead, Cyk slept for two days—contrary to the conventional wisdom of what you're supposed to do after sustaining a head injury. Only then did she finally agree to go to an urgent care center, where she discovered she had broken her collarbone and some ribs and needed surgery.